1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to network connectivity, and more particularly to a system and method for providing network connectivity to a common embedded interface so as to leverage the system's downstream signal processing and handling circuitry. The invention also relates to efficiently retrieving, updating, organizing, delivering and presenting information through a communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the consumer electronics industry, there are many single-function, yet highly complex appliances or devices. Examples of such devices include televisions, digital video cassette recorders, digital versatile disk players and audio receivers. As technology evolves, the computational power and capability of the devices increase, providing better consumer experience with each successive generation of products. However, these devices tend to be unique in architecture and dedicated in function. They are typically not designed to interact with each other or with other devices.
In addition, advances in technology have led to the availability of a vast amount of information accessible via a computer network such as the world wide web (www) or the internet. The world wide web enables a user to have easy access to information on a world wide scale. In addition, it facilitates delivery of information world wide. Such information includes text files, video clips, web pages, flash and/or shareware presentations, computer programs and other information that can be provided in digital format. However, the delivery of such information to a home networking system is currently limited because of the lack of interoperability and resource management between devices.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for a system and method for overcoming the aforementioned problems.